Hydraulic control for carburetors



y 1939- G. w. GALLIHUGH 2,165,623

HYDRAULIC CONTROL FOR CARBURETORS Filed Jul 17, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 1IIlW Ml l x Wm E 9% \mm d N nou 9 m QM m i y 11, 1939- Q G. w. GALLIHUGH2,155,523

HYDRAULIC CONTROL FOR CARBURETORS Filed July 17, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Ogwucwtoo QW. Gallihugh/ Patented July 11, 1939 a UNITED STATES PATENTorr cs 2,165,628 nvmmuuo con-mon- FOR onnnonn'rons Gordon w. Gallihugli,Flint, Mich. Application July 17, 1931, Serial No. 154,292

2 Claims.

The invention relates to improvements in hydraulic control mechanismsfor carburetors.

One' of the objects of myinvention is to provide means'for moreeffective control of the carburetor wherein no lost motion between theaccelerator and the carburetor lever occurs.

Another object of theinventionis to provide means for avoiding floodingof the carburetor owing to sudden application of too much fuel as in thecase of excitement on the part of an operator.

Another object of the invention is to provide means for indicating tothe operator the quantity of fuel being supplied to the carburetor.

A further object of the invention is to provide suitable means forbalancing the fluid in the pipe line and cylinders of the hydrauliccontrol mechanism.

A still further object of the invention is to provide means permittingindependent movement of the carburetor lever by the hand controllever onthe steering wheel.

Other objects and advantages of the inven-' iting the invention to. theprecise details therein 30 set forth.

In the drawings: Fig. 1 is a,side elevation of the hydraulic controlsystem as a whole shown applied to a motor vehicle.

35 Fig. 2 is a detailed section showing the hydraulic foot control unitand the liquid balancing unit of the system together with theintervening connections.

Fig. 3 is a side view showing the carburetor 40 control unit and theoscillating link carburetor connection.

Fig. 4 is a detailed view showing the safety pressure unit with whichthe system is equipped. Fig. 5 is a detailed view of the fluid charging45 unit, and

Fig. 6 is a detailed view of the fluid pressure gauge.

The principal parts of the system are the hydraulic footcontrol unit Aactuated from the 50 usual foot lever, such control unit beingpreferably attached to the floor board of the automobile in a positionconvenient for the right foot of the operator. The foot control unit isconnected through suitable passages to a four-way stand- 55 ard couplingB above which is mounted a liquid balancing unit C by means of which thepressure of the fluid may be properly adjusted. To another outlet of thecoupling B is connected the cushion carburetor control until D whichconnects through an oscillating link carburetor con- 5 nection E withthe usual fuel lever.

On the side of the oscillating link connection E opposite to the footcontrol unit are located other hydraulic units constituting a follow-upsystem to an indicator located on the dash of the automobile. Theseunits include a. safety pressure unit F which communicates through afluid connection with a three-way standard coupling G bymeans of whichfluid is supplied to this branch of the system, which unit in turncommunicates with an indicator H of any suitable type located on thedash of the automobile.

The component parts of the system will now be described in furtherdetail.

The foot control unit A comprises a foot pedal 20 I 0 which may be ofstandard construction and which engages an accelerator button I lconstituting the head of a piston 12. This piston may be composed oftool steel hardened and ground and metallic packing may be employed inthe groove of the piston head l2a to prevent the passage of fluid. Thepiston head itself may be made of brass or steel. 'The piston I 2operates in a cylinder l3 which may be of aluminum, brass, malleableiron or cast iron..v The cylinder as shown is provided with a fiange l4adapted to fit over the floor board l5. The cylinder contains fluid l6such as oil or the like.

A suitable adjustable fitting l'l screwed into the bottom of thecylinder l3 connects the same with a pipe l8 whereby fiuidpressure iscommunicated to the four-way coupling unit B, an adjustable fitting is,similar .to the fitting l1, being employed at the opposite end of thepipe ill. The coupling comprises a casing 20 having four 40 outlets.Into one of these outlets there is removably secured an adjustablescrew-threaded plug 2| whereby fluid may be drained from the coupling.Into the upper opening of ,the coupling is screwed a nipple 22 throughwhich 'communication is had with the balancing unit C.

.This unit includes a liquid supply cylinder 23 which may be formed ofbrass, malleable iron, aluminum, cast iron or other suitable material.Within this cylinder a piston 24 is mounted which piston may be formedof tool steel hardened and ground with a metallic packing employed inthe groove.v

An adjusting screw 25 operates within the cylinder and is adapted toengage the piston 24.

The adjusting screw is provided with a knurled head. The screw may becomposed of soft steel or brass. Below the piston and engaging the sameis a coil spring 25 which may be of spring steel wire. The lower end ofthe spring is adapted to engage the nipple 22.

Leading from the unit B toward the carburetor control unit D is anadjustable fitting 21 similar to the fittings l1 and ill from whichleads a pipe 28 having an adjustable fitting 29 entering the carburetorsafety cushion control unit D. The 'unit D comprises a cylinder 30.whichmay be of aluminum, brass, cast iron, malleable iron or other suitablematerial, within which works a piston 3! formed of tool steel preferablyhardened and ground and provided with suitable packing. ,The stem am ofthe piston projects beyond the cylinder 30 and is connected to a link 33which in turn is connected with the carburetor oscillating link couplingE. Pivots 32 and 34 connect the link 33 with the piston stem am and thelink control E respectively.

The unit E includes an oscillating link 35 which may be of brass, steelor aluminum and which is provided with a slot 36. The link is connectedthrough an anchor boss 31, which may be of brass or steel, to the usualcarburetor lever 38.

The unit E is in turn connected through a short link 40 to the stem 4iforming part of the safety pressure control unit F. Pivots 39 and 40aconnect the link 40 to the slotted link 35 and the piston rod 4|respectively.

The safety pressure control unit F includes a cylinder 42 which may beof any suitable material such as aluminum, brass, malleable iron or castiron; The piston Ma works in this cylinder and is composed of tool steelhardened and ground, and metallic packing may be used in the groove.

The cylinder will contain fluid similarto that employed in the otherbranch of the system and communicating with said cylinder is anadjustable fitting 43 similar to the fittings I1 and I9, etc. whichconnects through a pipe 44 to another fitting 45 entering the chargerconnection unit G. This unit is shown as comprising a three-way couplingwhich may be formed of brass, cast iron, malleable iron or steel suchcoupling being provided with a standard -inch check valve 41. .Leadingfrom the unit G is an adjustable obtain the proper alignment toaccomplish the The liquid pressure gauge H may beof any V special orstandard make and as shown includes a casing 52, a dial 53 and a pointer54, by

means of which the pressure within the line 49 is indicated.

The hydraulic control system including the carburetor control, cushionsafety connections and hydraulically operated gauge or meter may be usedon all types of vehicles fueled by means of liquid carburetion and theiruse makes for safety and economy.

As a matter of safety the system prevents the stalling of the motor indangerous places such as is often caused by the supplying of anexcessive amount of gas to the carburetor. As to economy the gaugereading in pounds gives the operator something to go by so as to permithim to operate the motor at its greatest efliciency preventing waste ofgasoline'and materially improving the mileage per gallon.

The herein described system including the hydraulically operated meter,cushion safety device and carburetor control make possible an effectivecontrol of the carburetor with no lost motion between the foot operationand the operation of the carburetor lever. The device promotes safetybecause of the cushion control due to the resistance of the safetypressure control unit F. This unit cushions thesuddenon-rush of fluidsand creates a pressure which prevents the carburetor from operatingexcessively thus avoiding stalling of the motor. This cushion controlwill not prevent or interfere with normal control or operation of thefuel lever.

A pressure reading on the gauge H results from any movement of thecarburetor lever, thereby detecting variations in fuel consumption anddisclosing any motor inefficiency. Obviously the higher the reading inpounds on the pressure gauge H the more fuel is being consumed whetherit be due to inferior gasoline, heavy load, weather conditions orinefficiency of the motor itself. The

gauge also readily determines the kind of gas best adapted for theparticular car regardless of 4 age or condition of the motor. The gaugecontrols the gas economy and is beneficial to any and all motoroperators.

The unit C serves to balance the fluid in the pipe line and cylinders bymeans of the adjusting piston 24, the adjustable screw 25 forcing thepiston against the fluid oil so as to completely fill the pipe line andfoot control cylinder.

It will be apparent that the least application of pressure on the pistonl2'a in unit A will create a corresponding operation of the fuel controllever 38 owing to the operation of the cushion safety control unit D;Any movement on the part of the piston 31 within this unit iscounterbalanced by .the movement of the piston in the safety pressurecontrol unit F, thus preventing supply of excessive fuel which mightresult in stalling of the motor.

The charger connection G is used for filling the gauge line and thepressure control unit cylinder in unit F.

The invention has been described in detail for. purpose of illustrationbut it will be apparent that variations and modifications may beresorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention.

I claim:

1. In a hydraulic control system for carburetors, a hydraulic footcontrol unit, a four-way coupling unit communicating therewith, a liquidbalancing unit communicating with one leg of the coupling, a filler plugfitting into another leg of the coupling for supplying fluid to the 1system, a cushion carburetor control unit communicating with the fourthleg of the coupling, an oscillating link carburetor connection actuatedfrom said control unit, a safety pressure unit located beyond the linkconnection, a filler coupling in the pressure line beyond the pressureunit having means for supplying fluid to the system, there beinginterposed between the carburetor control unit and the safety pressureunit.

2. In a device of the character described, a fuel leve a link connectedto said lever having portions extendingin opposite directions from saidlever, a pair of opposed hydraulic cylinders at opposite sides of saidlink having reciprocating pistons therein, means connecting one of saidpistons to one end of said link and means connecting the other to theother end, and a pair of hydraulic lines one communicating with one ofsaid cylinders and the other with the other of said cylinders, one linebeing connected with 5 manual accelerating means and the other with anindicating gage.

' I GORDON W. GALLIHUGH.

